Go through the archives and you’ll note a strategy unfolding that few, including us, could fully conceptualize when it first appeared. Way back when candidate Trump first began to put his economic plans into platform outlines the subtle signature was there, but few were paying attention.

In order to reverse three decades of middle-class economic erosion, there were indicators that Trump’s strategy was a radical change in approach. In essence the strategy was to split the economic policy into two areas and sequence the policy: highly-consumable goods (first) and durable goods (second).

Both product sectors have historically been viewed and approached by economic policy makers using a single financial strategy. That singular approach gave rise to Wall Street benefiting and Main Street suffering. Investment-class gained; middle-class suffered.

Trump outlined an approach –albeit vaguely– that was multidimensional.

His policy would first target multinational corporations, using the U.S. Treasury (Mnuchin) to weaken their grip and influence; simultaneously, he would use energy policy to drive down domestic prices in highly-consumable products (fuel, food, energy sector). These sectors are not measured in fed inflation indexes; however, if lowered, these facets of consumer spending can also increase the amount of disposable income available for workers.

In essence, expand the economy by lowering the aggregate cost of living for the middle-class who live paycheck-to-paycheck. Use monetary policy, fiscal policy and trade policy), to entice domestic investment and create jobs; and ultimately put upward pressure on wages.

That’s where we are now.

The second aspect of Trump economic policy is geared toward ‘durable goods’. That’s where the trade imbalance plays a larger role in the strategy.

As the economy expands, Americans can now afford rises in the prices of durable goods. However, as with all manufacturing systems -geared toward retaining market share inside a consumer economy (ie. the U.S. market)- the foreign creators will first seek to retain competitive pricing structure by making efficiencies within their own business models.

When foreign manufacturers entering a phase of cost-cutting analysis (note Team Trump just left Asia) you immediately hit them with stronger forecasted trade rules on their products. The manufacturers financial analysis then has to contain the possibility of new rules. That’s where Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer come in:

On Oct. 5, the ITC [International Trade Commission] voted unanimously in favor of Whirlpool, which brought a complaint forward accusing Samsung and LG Electronics, its South Korean competitors, of flooding U.S. markets with cheap washing machines and pricing out domestic manufacturers. While the ITC didn’t say material harm was coming from South Korea in particular, Whirlpool alleged the country’s manufacturers shifted production into other countries (Thailand and Vietnam) in order to avoid U.S. anti-dumping tariffs imposed in previous years.

The ITC’s recommendations will be sent to President Donald Trump, who will have two months to make a final decision.

This second phase is where the two economic engines: Wall Street and Main Street; begin to come into parity again. The FED does measure the cost of durable goods in their inflation index. Rises in durable goods are recorded in inflation indexes and monetary policy (interest rates) is influenced accordingly.

Trump’s phase-one befuddled the FED who have been perplexed over inflation being virtually non existent. Most of the reason for this disconnect has been the downward price pressure on (non-measured) highly-consumable goods; and static prices on (measured) durable goods. The FED can see the economy expanding, but they cannot, or at least couldn’t until now, reconcile the lack of inflation.

Wages are growing, albeit modestly at first – but now gaining speed, as a result of economic expansion and increased employment. This wage growth, in combination with keeping downward pressure on high-consumable prices, allows Trump to begin a series of aggressive trade policies that will slowly raise durable good prices.

The trade policy, tightly executed by Trump, Mnuchin, Ross and Lighthizer, will put increased pressure on manufacturers to make products in the U.S. In turn this puts further demand on U.S. workers; which, in turn, drives up the wages – to afford the prices of durable goods as they increase.

Simultaneously, it must be remembered that every dollar removed from imports actually increases the GDP. The value of all imported goods is deducted from the combined value of all goods and services we produce. If we drop $1 billion in imports on Washing Machines, and simultaneously manufacture $1 billion on Washing Machines in the U.S., the U.S. GDP gains $2 billion in value. The U.S. economy actually expands by more than $2 billion because the attached manufacturing wages are also inside the U.S.

This multi-prong approach is one of the reasons why it just doesn’t seem to be part of the strategy to keep the U.S. inside NAFTA as it currently is constructed. Perhaps, just perhaps, the NAFTA exercise is more optical than actual. Perhaps, it’s more about the outside world seeing the U.S. trade position as executed, than actually negotiating….

On a side note, after reading the previous article about the updated fourth quarter growth numbers and all the positive economic indicators, I had to run out and pick up my dog from the groomers.

As I ran my errands, I happened to notice two things. The local Safeway is hiring because my receipt says so; the Taco Time’s reader board says “Now hiring over 18 years old.” And that was just on a short trip through one small part of town.

I agree, Wheatie. We’re gonna need shades. (However, I will probably make do with ones I can afford to purchase rather than run out and shop lift some Louis Vuitton’s…..in China, yet.)

You should see the Job signs here!
Though a lot admittedly are “service industries”.. though it IS indicative of the Local underlying Ecomoney… There ARE high tech/Manufacturing Jobs Hiring..
Lots of JOBS!

We have a lot of now hiring signs in my area, but most are service type jobs.

We just had some visitors from rural Canada. They were keenly aware of all the now hiring signs. It seems there are no jobs in their area. What jobs there are tend to go to foreign workers or so they said. Apparently with oil prices down a lot of those jobs disappeared. They spoke highly of our POTUS and would love to have a Canadian version.

Now let’s get the welfare grifters into those slots. Then they’re paying taxes instead of consuming them. They don’t have time to take oxycontin’s, if they’ve got to go to work the next day. MAGA, baby

Sylvia, My younger son is a criminal defense lawyer. He finished law school few years ago and couldn’t find a job in law companies…So he had to start working for himself. He is still straggling, but suddenly a month ago he got 3 job offers from NM.
So, law in order on the rise in our country too! .

Thank you, once again, for the awesome analysis, SD. I can’t wait to see how this all plays out. It is totally beyond my comprehension why anyone with half a brain continues to dump on our President. I am so sick to death of the political BS.

Because politics. The people dumping on Trump are not stupid. They know that Trump’s policies are going to work. It’s no accident that the economy only expanded at 1.5% on average under Obama. The strategy was previously a careful balance between globalization (the export and redistribution of the US economy) and keeping the GDP at a positive growth rate to avoid negative headlines and a recession environment.

With the amount of economic power behind the capitalist system in the United States it’s no accident that the economy grew at such an anemic pace the past 8 years. It was very much deliberate.

They wanted millennials, now loaded down with student debt and fully indoctrinated, to feel hopeless and turn to (more) Socialism as the only hope to feed themselves. Obama said ‘this is the new normal; get used to it’, or some such words. I wonder if they’ll continue to disrupt or will soon settle down in the decent paying jobs they’ll be able to get.

SD, America is a BIG business and why we needed a business President and business and/or real military appointees. Now Congress need to get his appointees okayed, make sure the tax bill goes thru without a twist here and there, ditto complete REPEAL of ACA, and we are getting the wall built but we need the rest of the money and okay to move forward. Too bad the 2 parties in 1 don’t understand simple economics except for their pockets.

The uniparty’s two phony faces do understand economics, and use the dismal science to suppress free market capitalism and individual freedom in favor of globalist cronyism at every opportunity. Their crooked advocacy of the H1-B visa program to suppress the wages of American scientists and engineers is a perfect example.

I agree and have always advocated for someone who understands business. Unfortunately, this is but a blink of an eye in our history. The voters, as usual, will once again elect another Obama, Billie Boy, FDR, or someone in a pants suit. They will be told by the Marxist press that it is the right thing to do and the voters will follow suit. Some may think I am a cynic, but you just cannot change history. We need to enjoy the moment.

Yes, this wasn’t some off the shelf plan drafted by a consultant Donald Trump hired to write his economic plan.

This is just plain amazing stuff. I am often overwhelmed by the realization of the kind of man we elected. He is so much more than I ever gave him credit for. And just when I think I really get him and fully appreciate him, he does something else that is so profound I can scarcely comprehend it.

I have always been interested in what minutiae influenced Donald Trump to flip from ‘if it gets so bad, I may consider running’ as he responded to an Oprah interview years ago, to actually running for President?

I knew he was going to run because he himself said his children were now old enough to oversee his companies, however that was only one half the equation. What was the actual trigger?

Gee, a whole $4.71 while cost of living is far more expensive. When I lived there it was $2.00 and they hardly could live on that. While they were earning maybe $50 a month, I was paid $400 because I was bilingual but also had the skills and background for the companies. Meanwhile, the rich get richer there and couldn’t care less about their workers! No benefits, no social security (I was able to get that the SS but if I want to collect it, I have to return to Mexico and apply!), etc.

Best thing we could do to cut down on illegal immigration (besides the wall) would be to help Mexico improve its economy and get rid of the cartels. It can still benefit the U.S. economy (reduce trade deficit) and improve the illegal immigration problem at the same time. It’s essentially a narco state now.

Great Article. From my observations, economists work with balance sheets feeding math models and do not ever comprehend that “business people” actually have to deal with the human element within the regulatory environment and politically necessary strong job market of the elected official. Trump and his team have the insight of how businesses that create stuff are actually built and operate, hence the phased strategy you discuss that totally bewilders economists who only understand balance sheets.

The Unholy Alliance of John Maynard Keynes“Perhaps the greatest modern champion of central economic planning was the 20th century English economist John Maynard Keynes. Keynes, who was a political socialist and for a time a central banker, advocated the idea that the government should play a large, active role in the economy. Among the consequences of Keynes’ economic theories, whether intended or unintended, is the fact that Western economies today are characterized by large, central governments, central banks and massive debts.[…]”

Keynes was not a socialist. The socialist economists are the ones who are always talking about income equality.

Keynes was a practical economist with a good understanding of how the economy actually works. His writing on money influenced the libertarian monetarists of the Chicago School, including my father’s dissertation adviser Milton Friedman.

I suspect that Keynes would approve of the trade balancing aspects of President Trump’s economic policy. When Britain was running trade deficits he helped put together the Macmillan report which advocated a tariff system with subsidies to exporters in order to balance trade.

Well Howard, he was so smart, look where is ideas led us to, ideas fed to a bunch of ignorant idiots like Paul Krugman who are told “You are an Economist” and you must run things for everyone and you are smarter than everyone!”

Economists should be kept in the back 40 for consultation every now and then and writing books from a historical perspective, not giving direction to anything.

As I said he was a very good friend of the FABIAN Socialists, founders of the London School of Economics where people like David Rockefeller and other high profile business and political leaders are trained.

Samsung has a reputation over here (Germany) for launching the drum and/or catching fire. They’re having a really tough time selling. I don’t have the link, but there was a video of the drum exiting the side of the washer and going through a wall next to it.

Now if it launched the finished wash into the dryer, that might not be so bad…
(Oh wait, maybe that’s what the catching on fire is for…).

I have both LG Washer and Dryer and they have worked flawlessly for me for several years. I do my own maintenance as recommended.

That said, the trade issues between countries and tariffs, are another matter. Consumers should have the best choices available to them and the market should be a level playing fleld, in my book. It should all be about the consumer and choices. This keeps US competition on their toes also so they don’t get arrogant like US auto manufacturers did back in the day. Now they want protection but they still put out crap. They had better up their game. That is the simple game. Better products at great prices and consumers will be buying as the jobs come back.

I have a Samsung dryer that plays a tune when the cycle is finished. My sister asked me what song it is and I told her I think it is the Chinese national anthem. (I think they are made in S. Korea, though) I would buy a new dryer just to hear the US national anthem at the end of the cycle.

Freddiel, all the way back in the NINETEEN-FIFTIES, U.S. appliance manufacturers had that all figured out. My mother had a pair of machines with, if I remember right, 12 different tunes you could set to play at different cues, such as “time to add fabric softener,” clothes finished drying,” etc..
Want to know why we don’t have such machines today? LAWYERS!!! (I love hearing someone with a southern accent curse “Lawyers, lawyers!” because it quickly sounds like they’re saying “Liars, Liars!”… most apropos, in my opinion). Several suits were filed which would have forced appliance manufacturers to PAY ROYALTIES for playing the songs (in private homes, be it noted). The suits were invalid on their faces for that reason alone, but they nonetheless scared the appliance manufacturers off… so we have to buy foreign to get the feature(s), 60-70 years later.
It’s almost enough to make me believe in a certain recipe for a happy country: “First, hang all the lawyers!”

” … You say you haven’t been the same since you had your little crash
But you might feel better if they gave you some cash
The more I think about it ole Billy was right
Let’s kill all the lawyers kill ’em tonight …”

This refers to how many times a dollar bill circulates within a community before heading overseas. This has a direct effect on a community. That same dollar you pay to the farmer for his tomatoes, he then uses to pay the roofer to patch his roof who pays the mechanic to fix his truck…

The other concept that is not taught to us Deplorables is Velocity of Money
From WIKI“The term “velocity of money” (also “The velocity of circulation of money”) refers to how fast money passes from one holder to the next. It can refer to the income velocity of money, which is the frequency at which the average same unit of currency is used to purchase newly domestically-produced goods and services within a given time period.[3] In other words, it is the number of times one unit of money is spent to buy goods and services per unit of time.[…]”

Consumer confidence and business confidence directly affects the velocity of money. When people are confident they open their wallets and buy that new widget instead of stashing gold under the bed which causes the economy to stagnate.

These are very important for us to not only understand but to make sure others understand if we want people to appreciate what President Trump is doing.

The velocity of money was almost nil during the great depression, and also during the Obama Depression. This is why QE didn’t stimulate the economy, like pushing on a string, and there was no business confidence. Velocity creates, and is a reflection of, a thriving economy.

Very true Linden but regarding QE, I would say more like “spitting into the wind” since “pushing a string” sounds like there were no negative consequences. What we have seen have been plenty of negative consequences from all the brilliance from these “economists” and masters of finance. I for one do not believe in “too big to fail” and believe bad decisions and management have consequences and those should play out. The only people being protected are the BOD’s and shareholders. The public still gets screwed no matter which way you look at it. And, of course, no one loses their jobs, or goes to jail. They just get promoted up, e.g. Jaimie Gorelick and others. The laws of nature for failure or screwing up are negated through the work of our Congress critters,.

The actual problem is a monopoly where a Brazilian family owns most of our slaughter houses and feed lots.

This is from Thursday, July 10, 2008 and I can not get it to load on my computer, so here are the main parts of the article. It is a very good example of WHY we need to start going after and breaking up this cartels. (9 companies control 80% of our food world wide for example.)

“When Wesley Batista, the North American boss of Brazilian meat packer JBS Swift, testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee probing his firm’s pending buyout of National Beef Packing and Smithfield Foods beef operations, he all but sang the Star Spangled Banner and waved Old Glory.
“We want to expand U.S. sales of beef and pork, domestically and around the world,” Batista told the Senate’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights May 7. “In the process, we will create U.S. jobs.”
Of course he didn’t say WHO those jobs were going to, like ILLEGALS.“Nothing makes a senator smile faster than the promise of new, home state jobs — even if they’re built on cow guts and the sale of $1 billion of American assets to a Brazilian multimillionaire.
It was a winning line, so Batista repeated it four more times in the next three minutes before concluding his brief, not-one-fact testimony[…]

After all, where else in the world could a little-known, foreign meat packer go from nothing to No. 1 in cattle feeding and beef packing in a year with little more than warm bromides and cold cash?
Only in America, baby. Only in America.
Waiting for approval
JBS Swift’s storming of the U.S. beef packing and feeding sectors, however, hinges on the Department of Justice approving its buyout of National Beef, Smithfield’s beef slaughter operations and Smithfield’s massive Five Rivers Cattle Feeding LLC, the nation’s largest cattle feedlot with one-time capacity of 811,000 head.
Should the Department of Justice bless the purchase, the Brazilian firm will leapfrog cattle-killing competitors Cargill and Tyson to control nearly one-third of all cattle slaughter while paring the number of national packers from five to just three….

Such an outcome would all but end competitive cattle buying in America, Bill Bullard, CEO of R-CALF, the Billings, Mont., cattlemen’s group, told the Senate hearing. It “would likely be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back” of the $50 billion-per-year cattle market[…]. “Control“The key is “captive” cattle — animals either owned or contracted to packers — that packers use to effectively corral price discovery. Currently, packers have their hooks into 60 percent, or 27 million of the 45 million steers and heifers, of cattle slaughtered in the U.S. each year.
That majority control is where the “price of cattle is established for the remaining 18 million cattle that are not sold to the (current) major packers,” related Bullard.
Further concentration — allowing the Big Four or Five to become the Big Three — said Bullard, all but assures easier price coordination between packers that then threatens thinner markets, lower cattle prices, fewer cattlemen and harm to “thousands of rural communities that depend on a vibrant, competitive U.S. live cattle industry.”
He’s not stretching the blanket. From 1980 through 2004, the top four American hog packers increased their national kill percentage from 33.6 to 61.3, according to USDA data.”

Bad taste“Simultaneously, the number of U.S. hog operations declined from 667,000 to 67,000. And as the hog packers’ grip tightened, the spread between farm and retail prices expanded — from about 50-cents per pound in 1980 to more than $2 per pound in 2007.[…]

You bring up a good point Combs, the food industry is now like NAFTA and Global Warming all wrapped in one. It is one big cartel that controls the food industry, every aspect. These types of organizations need to be brought down just like globalist political machinations. Same for Big Pharma, Big Medicine, Big Education, etc. So many things to fix. But our Builder Extraordinaire, President DJT, can surely take this on in two terms, and leave the rest to a solidly capable Second thereafter. It is astounding what he has accomplished in only his first year. Damn!!

Add in the fact that most of the economists today were in their teens/ low 20s when Trump was already building his empire… honing his skill set…should he ever be in a position of power, which as it turned out is right now…President Trump. Most of them have never seen a main street based economy so they don’t have a frame of reference to go by. I think estimates of GDP will be raised higher by the next quarter as our economy exponentially picks up.

Young people have grown up in a world of Big Box Stores and Internet Sales, too.
They don’t know what it was like…before.

Big Box Stores proliferated and made millions off of cheap Imports.
As crime and high gas prices drove people indoors…people resorted to catalog and internet sales.

Our corrupt politicians, paid off by their globalist donors & lobbyists, passed laws and made regulations that drove our factories out of business.
Downsizing, unemployment and lower-paying jobs, resulted in a Poorer Middle Class.

It’s all connected.
Gee…it’s almost like ‘someone’ had a master plan to bring the US to it’s knees.

This is really exciting…I’ve spent most of a life in CA and WA…The aggressive focus of do-gooder green types has most definitely been on No Refineries. And, of course, the pinko State Governments have followed along, with the press in tow.
This has been a major impediment to processing crude in an economical fashion; the bottleneck has been intentional bc, you know, fossil fuels are bad for the Planet.
Last time I looked, this attitude is kind of confined to The Archipelago of Coastal Blue areas…that leaves a Lot of USA area in which to build refineries close to sources.
SO glad to see this. Absolutely necessary.
Energy Independence will be a hard thing to reverse once it is established.
By the time this achievement is within reach, I expect we will have several new sources of media capable of spreading the good news.

With the Trans-Pacific Partnership on the horizon I figured the USA as a sovereign nation was all but dead.

Killing the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Paris Accord and defending the 2nd Amendment was my reason for voting for President Trump. Everything else is just the cherry on top of that beautiful piece of chocolate cake!
…..

For those who continue to complain that if the wall isn’t build or …. we have to remind them just how close we came to completely losing this country and literally entering another Dark Ages.

I get it.. He is balancing the scales as they go upward; Adding more employment and higher wages on one side by bringing more industry and manufacturing back into the U.S. – which gives the People the ability to afford the increased cost as a result of bringing back the domestically produced manufacturing of durable goods.. (durable goods that actually will be ‘durable’ again too. Made in the U.S.A.).

It’s a win win.. and actually a triple play win.. The third win being the most important win.. The increase in the middle class standard of living.. The larger synergical result that is greater than the sum of its parts…’Economic Alchemy’..

It’s this kind of thinking that I like about Sir Trump.. He’s the Man.. Making America Great Again..

it is nice that the middle class will be better off under maga. but us poor seniors with a fixed income are still getting shafted. prices are still increasing while our income is not.
grocery prices are continuing to increase. the electric water and trash are going up
we need another car but used ones are still costly, thanks to obozo,.
our income that even 5 years ago was adequate, is barely adequate now.
seniors are hurting, and we need help.

Maybe, just maybe if the Welfare rolls continue to shrink, and the freeloaders take a hike, us Seniors will get more than a measly nothing increase in cost of living. Everyone but the economists no that there is “real” inflation going on. I think Trump’s team has a good handle on that and they are working many handles and angles to reign in decades of sheer stupidity on the part of “politicians.” Thank God he is not a Politician but a businessman and a problem solver.

Oh heck, it is only Pres Trump and the Trump Trade Team against The World.

“many — even the US Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer — seem to think it’s time for corporate sovereignty, also called “investor-state dispute settlement” (ISDS), to go. (The ISDS) gave companies unique rights to sue countries in a supra-national court”

“The EU…now wants to go further by creating a truly global corporate sovereignty system enforced by a new Multilateral Investment Court (MIC)…the MIC would be able to create what amount to global laws, without any democratic input or scrutiny.”

If we have to, we will defeat the Germans again, and the rest of the stupid EU. You would think that for all the German self flagellation over WW2 and the Holocaust, they would cut the crap about this world domination stuff. What is wrong with these people??

Trump already has the EU on the ropes in many countries following the lead of the Brits with the BREXIT vote. Their clock is running down and they are getting desperate as even Merkel is finding it hard to hold on to her power. The globalist in Belgium and around the world are losing. We just need to have more countries join the fight but Trump is getting the message across with the hard facts that hit home.

I have suspected the NAFTA negotiation, rather than just killing it, is all about timing and smoking out the other side. What is important to them, what they know, what they don’t know, how sophisticated or clueless they are, all intel that can be obtained during the NAFTA negotiations so that we hit the ground fully in charge during the one-on-one talks we will have with Canada and Mexico individually. I expect we have already learned a lot, and once the Trump team thinks there is no more to be learned about the other sides then we will kill NAFTA.

Whirlpool is the classic global manufacturer. 9 locations in the US, 43 locations in other countries, including 9 in China/India.
I would love Sundance’s take on how driving up the cost of labour and durable goods in the domestic US market will lead to increased exports.
The big durable goods producers, be they American or foreign all have global manufacturing in most of the major consumer areas in Asia, Europe, North America/Central Ametica and South America.
Why would high cost big ticket durable goods be imported for domestic use from America, when low cost comprables are readily available locally?
You can squeeze tariffs out of importers into America to level the price, but that simpy removes any low cost option for the American consumer, who will pay the same high cost for quality or crap.
Forcing the dollar store to be the 10 dollar store will just eliminate the competition, leaving the survivor free to raise the price even more.
This will also trigger retaliatory tariffs on other US exports, raising the price of US goods even further in foreign markets.
Is the US aiming for a solely domestic market, and can US manufacturers actually survive such a scenario where everything produced in the US is sold in the US without competition on price?
I simply dont see how pricing out 6 billion consumers to placate a domestic base of 300 million and force feed them predetermined products at prices solely controlled by the State Owned manufacturer will work in the long run. It all sounds very Venezuelan to me, but what do I know.

It’s called proximity to market. You’re confusing yourself as to how trade works. Whirlpool will have plants overseas to access those markets overseas. The big globalization scheme has been to source manufacturing where labor cost are the least and export it into whatever market that would take them in tariff free (thus the term “free” trade). What’s wrong in the Samsung vs. Whirlpool debate is Samsung can access the US market free by sourcing manufacturing to Vietnam but Whirlpool can’t compete, even though it has domestic plants for the domestic market.

The incentives are skewed to moving domestic plants overseas to compete with foreign competitors accessing our domestic markets. It should be the opposite. If you want access to our market, either relocate to US or level the playing field in your country and compete on basis of quality rather than a race to the bottom (market share).

There is more to being successful in a market than just price. In the case of many Asian countries, products are downsized because living spaces are expensive and small. And even though there are six billion people around the world, only a fraction can really afford these durable goods. If you have lived abroad, you know what I mean.

And then try to get spare/replacement parts, or selection of colors, or say in the case of refrigerators, even a unit that allows you to open the door from either side, and you are stuck. Only few choices. In Asia, refrigerators open only from the left, hinge on the right. See how that works in every kitchen arrangement!

And when it comes to price, there is literally no competition. Talk about price fixing. Everyone has the same price no matter where you shop and trying to negotiate is a waste of time. Take autos. Few options, few colors, you get what’s on the floor and unless you are very rich and can afford the wait for a special order, you get what is on the floor. The national car companies make volume deals with Japanese car makers for instance for a limited offering and then price the products (no discounts available) at the full price. There is no such thing as passing savings on to the customer.

So in the U.S. market, even though products might “cost” more, you get a lot more even thought from a global market perspective that goes relatively unrecognized.

Had a bank meeting today with two female regulators. They were pumped about the confirmation of our new comptroller of currency, Joseph Otting and were very complementary and excited about Steve Mnuchin. They also called an article fake news. I was completely blown away as that was the last thing I was expecting. You just never know what to expect from people in a good way.

The tax cuts are the key. With the regulation cuts and the tax cuts, Trump is making the US more business friendly. The demand for US workers will go up and that’s why Trump has talked about the need for welfare reform. He wants Americans to get to work because there will be plenty of jobs. Then Trump wants to build up US infrastructure but much of that will be to supercharge the energy sector with new ports, pipelines, transmission lines, etc. Lastly, to fuel innovation and keep America atop in technology age, immigration reform that is merit based, will bring in higher skilled workers in favor of lower skilled labor to keep wages up and keep our talent pool stocked.

Brilliant, brilliant strategist is our president! If he’s able to get tax cuts through then everything goes from there. Deregulation, tax reform, welfare reform, infrastructure investments, immigration reform, and trade renegotiations that will continue to boost the economy and bring jobs. All this means growth and growth means MAGA!!

BTW, I would like Sundance to mention how prescription drugs are also a part of the consumable goods category too! Trump has plan to tackle the price increases in that space too! And on the durable goods side, military equipment count as well. The defense budget increase, as well as Trump getting our allies like NATO, Saudi Arabia, Korea and Japan to buy more US defense equipment is also a big factor in MAGA!

I am so thankful that it makes me weep, for our wonderful American President Donald Trump. Thank you Jesus for giving us this man to bring it back to the country you created. God bless America, patriots and our President. Amen

“When Donald Trump came to Newton, Iowa yesterday, it wasn’t the first time he’d been there. Newton, once the home of Maytag, has been in an economic slump since at least 2001, when Maytag started laying off employees to move their operations to Mexico. In 2006, Whirlpool bought the dying company, and in 2007 the Maytag factory was shut. Five years ago, Trump saw a story on 60 Minutes about the demise of Maytag, which included a segment with a local businessman named Dave McNeer.”

Now, if we control the H1B visas, maybe wife and I will get big raises too?

BTW, this summer we bought a very nice Maytag (made in the US it says) dual washer dryer, stacked them.

MSRP at Lowe’s was $2200 but they had them on sale for $1900. Then on delivery day they called me and told me that they only had one left and it had a minor bump on the side. If I wanted it, they’d knock off some money. I accepted, bump is invisible and on the rear side.. so they dropped the price another $200. Finally the State of Calimexistan gave us a $250 rebate for buying a new water saving washer.